Paving form structure



May 15, 1956 w, gw s 2,745,165

PAVING FORM STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 18, 1954 IN V EN TOR. kV/LL/AM LEW/s United States Patent PAVING FORM STRUCTURE William H. Lewis, Pasadena, Calif., assignor to Joint Saw Company, Arcadia, Califi, a corporation of California Application August 18, 1954, Serial No. 450,605

6 Claims. (Cl. 25-118) The present invention relates generally to the field of road building and more particularly to a new and novel paving form structure to be utilized in laying pavement.

When concrete roads and other concrete surfaces are laid it is common practice to form the lanes or sections of the road in separate parallel lengths. In order to bind adjoining lanes or sections together so that they may be maintained in the same horizontal plane and prevented from spreading away from one another, transverse metallic paving dowels are embedded in the concrete of the lanes or sections as they are laid, said dowels having a first portion which is embedded within the first-poured concrete and a second portion which extends into the space to be occupied by a subsequently-poured lane. In this manner the separately poured lanes or sections are maintained in lateral and longitudinal alignment and movement of one lane or section with reference to another is prevented.

The sides of the lanes or sections are initially defined by a pair of parallel steel side form members between which the paving material is poured. Each side form includes a base that rests upon the ground and a form wall extending upwardly therefrom. A groove-forming element, commonly termed a key strip, is secured to the form wall of the side form in order to define a groove in the hardened pavement. This groove is adapted to receive a complementary tongue formed in the adjacent lane or section of pavement when the latter is laid. The side forms are temporarily anchored to the ground while the paving material is poured therebetween by means of a plurality of longitudinally-spaced steel stakes. the paving material has hardened the steel stakes are withdrawn from the ground and the side forms are raised. Thereafter, the key strips are likewise removed and the exposed portions of the dowels are bent outwardly from the hardened pavement.

It is a particular problem of the heretofore-proposed paving form structures of this nature that the key strips are so secured to the side forms that the latter must first be moved laterally some distance away from the hardened pavement before they may be raised upwardly. This necessitates the separate withdrawl of each steel stake by a special lifting jack. Thereafter, each side form is first moved laterally away from the key strip whereby it may be disengaged therefrom (the keyxstrip temporarily remaining in the hardened pavement), and then upwardly by means of a crane.

It is a major object of the present invention to eliminate the necessity of removing the steel stakes before raising the side forms. By the use of the present invention the After side forms and the stakes may be lifted simultaneously in a single operation. This object is accomplished by the use of a novel key strip and means for fastening it to the side forms that eliminates the necessity of moving the latter laterally away from the key strip before raising it upwardly from the ground. The elimination of this extra step affords a considerable saving in time and money.

Another object of the invention is to provide a paving form structure of the aforedescribed nature which may be utilized with existing side forms.

A further object is to provide a paving structure of the aforedescribed nature which is extremely simple to use and which is foolproof in operation.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a paving form of the aforedescribed nature which requires no special tools in its use.

An important object is to provide a paving form structure of the aforedescribed nature by the use of which leakage of concrete past the side form is completely eliminated.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a paving form structure embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a first step in a paving operation utilizing said structure;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a key strip utilized in the paving structure embodying the present invention; and

Figures 4 and 5 are vertical sectional views showing subsequent steps in a paving operation utilizing said structure.

Referring to the drawings, the novel paving structure of the present invention is adapted for use with a pair of conventional steel side forms F (only one of which is shown) having a horizontal base it a form wall 12 extending vertically upwardly therefrom and a tread 14 formed at the upper end of the form wall. The base it) initially rests upon the prepared bed 20 of the roadway or other surface to be covered with paving material. The tread 14 receives the wheels of a paving, grading or other type of machine which may travel along the side forms F during the preparation of the pavement.

Each side form F is temporarily secured to the ground alongside the lane or section to be paved by means of a plurality of longitudinally spaced steel stakes S. The latter extend through vertically aligned bores formed in the base 10 and the tread 14 of the side forms. These stakes S serve to positively anchor the side forms in place while paving material 22 is being poured therebetween. In order to form a groove 26 in the edge 28 of the pavement material 22 which is to abut another lane or section of the roadway, the present invention contemplates the use of a key strip K. The latter is temporarily secured to the face 29 of the side form F by a plurality of horizontally spaced lock means L. After the paving material 22 has hardened the side form F and key strip K are removed from the edge 28 of the paving material 22, the key strip K having formed the groove 26. This groove 26 will cooperate with a complementary tongue formed when a second lane (not shown) is poured alongside the hardened paving material 22.

The preferred form of key strip K includes a rear wall 34 from which extends integral top and bottom walls 36 and 38, respectively, the latter tapering forwardly and toward one another. The top and bottom walls 36 and 38 merge into an integral front wall 40 that is formed with a rearwardly extending generally semi-circular recess 42.

The lock means L may consist of a plurality of conventional sheet metal fasteners of a well known construction. The front portion of these fasteners L are adapted to be inserted within complementary aligned gaged from the side form F. It should be noted that although the sheet metal fasteners illustrated in the drawings have proven to be very satisfactory in actual use, other types of quick-release lock means may be .utilized.

The subsequently-poured pavement lanes or sections are adapted to be bound together by steel dowels D. These dowels D have a first portion 50 which is to be embedded within the hardened paving material 22 and a second portion 52 that extends from the latter in order that it may be embedded in the paving material of a subsequently-poured lane. The first portion 50 of the dowel includes a horizontal main element 54, the front end of which is bent downwardly so as to form a foot 56 which rests upon the ground while the paving material 22 is being poured. The front end of the first dowel portion 50 integrally merges into the second portion 52 thereof. Originally, this second portion 52 is bent at right angles to the first dowel portion 50 and is disposed within the recess 42 of the key strip K. It may be temporarily secured within this recess 42 by means of suit able wire retainers or nails 58. The latter extend downwardly through vertically aligned bores 59 and 60 formed in the key strip K and forwardly over the front of the second dowel portion 50, as shown in Figures 2 and 4.

In the utilization of the novel paving structure of the present invention for a paving operation the aforedescribed elements are initially positioned as shown in Figure 1. Next, the paving material 22 is poured alongside the face of the side form F, as indicated in Figure 2. After this paving material 22 has hardened, the front of the sheet metal fasteners L are withdrawn from the aligned bores 44 and 46, as indicated by dotted outline in Figure 2. The key strip K will then be disengaged from the face 12 of the side form F. The side form F and the stakes S may then be simultaneously raised off the ground as by a crane (not shown) having a lifting hook 70. It should be particularly noted that the side form F and the stakes S are raised simultaneously in a single operation. When the side form F and the stakes S are clear of the edge 28 of the hardened paving material 22, the key strip K may be laterally withdrawn from the groove 26 formed thereby. Finally, as indicated in Figure 5, the second portion 52 of the dowel D may be bent outwardly away from the edge 28 into the space to be filled by a second lane of paving material (not shown).

While there has been shown and described hereinbefore what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made with respect thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a paving form structure that includes a side form, the combination of an elongated key strip having vertical rear wall means which abut one side of said side form, a pair of top and bottom walls tapering forwardly and toward one another from said rear wall means and merging into a front wall having its intermediate portion curved rearwardly so as to define a generally semi-circular paving dowel receiving-recess, the front portion of one of said forwardly tapering walls being formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures each of which are substantially vertically aligned with a second aperture formed in the front part of the adjacent rearwardly curved portion of said front wall, each of said pair of apertures receiving a paving dowel retaining-element insertible therein from the exterior of said key strip; a plurality of fastener means, each horizontally insertible through a bore formed in said side form; and a plurality of longitudinally spaced receiving means for said fastener means formed on the rear wall means of said key strip.

2. In a paving form structure that includes a side form, the combination of an elongated key strip having vertical rear wall means which abut one side of said side form, a

pair of top and bottom walls tapering forwardly and toward one another from said rear wall means and merging into a front wall having its intermediate portion curved rearwardly so as to define a generally semi-circular paving dowel receiving-recess, the front portion of one of said forwardly tapering walls being formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures each of which are substantially vertically aligned with a second aperture formed in the front part of the adjacent rearwardly curved portion of said front wall, each of said pair of apertures receiving a paving dowel retaining-element insertible therein from the exterior of said key strip; a plurality of fastener means, each horizontally insertible through a bore formed in said side form; and a plurality of longitudinally spaced bores for receiving said fastener means formed in the rear wall means of said key strip.

3. An elongated key strip for use with a paving side form, including vertical rear wall means which abut one side of said side form, a pair of top and bottom walls tapering forwardly and toward one another from said rear wall means and merging into a front wall having its intermediate portion curved rearwardly so as to define a generally semi-circular paving dowel receiving-recess, the front portion of one of said forwardly tapering walls being formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures each of which are substantially vertically aligned with a second aperture formed in the front part of the adjacent rearwardly curved portion of said front wall, each of said pair of apertures receiving a paving dowel retaining-element insertible therein from the exterior of said key strip, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced fastener receiving means formed on said rear wall means.

4. An elongated key strip for use with a paving side form, including vertical rear wall means which abut one side of said side form, a pair of top and bottom walls tapering forwardly and toward one another from said rear wall means and merging into a front wall having its intermediate portion curved rearwardly so as to define a generally semi-circular paving dowel receivingrecess, the front portion of one of said forwardly tapering walls being formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures each of which are substantially vertically aligned with a second aperture formed in the front part of the adjacent rearwardly curved portion of said front wall, each of said pair of apertures receiving a paving dowel retaining-element insertible therein from the exterior of said key strip, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced fastener receiving means formed in said rear wall means.

5. In a paving form structure that includes a side form, the combination of an integral elongated key strip having vertical rear wall. means which abut one side of said side form, said rear wall means being formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced fastener-receiving bores, a pair of top and bottom Walls tapering forwardly and toward one another from said rear wall means and merging into a front wall having its intermediate portion curved rearwardly so as to define a generally semi-circular paving dowel receiving-recess; a plurality of longitudinally spaced pairs of vertically aligned apertures formed in the front portion of said key strip for receiving a paving dowel retaining element extending through said apertures and over the front portion of said recess: and a plurality of fastener means, each horizontally insertible from the rear of said side form through a bore formed therein into one of said fastener-receiving bores so as to engage said rear wall means and temporarily positively lock said key strip against vertical and horizontal movement relative to said side form, and said fastener means being horizontally rearwardly disengageable from said bores whereby said side form may be lifted vertically relative to said key strip.

6. In a paving form structure that includes a side form, the combination of an integral elongated key strip having vertical rear wall means which abut one side ofsaid side form, said rear wall means being formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced fastener-receiving bores, a pair of top and bottern walls tapering forwardly and toward one another from said rear wall means and merging into a front wall having its intermediate portion curved rearwardly so as to define a generally semi-circular paving dowel receiving-recess; paving dowel retaining means formed on the front portion of said key strip; and a plurality of fastener means, each horizontally insertible from the rear of said side form through a bore formed therein into one of said fastener-receiving bores 50 as to engage said rear wall means and temporarily positively lock said key strip against vertical and horizontal movement relative to said side form, and said fastener means being horizontally rearwardly disengageable from said bores whereby said side form may be lifted vertically relative to said key strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hedrick July 21, Hemptstead Apr. 29, Miller July 14, White Apr. 25, Heltzel Feb. 20, Robertson Apr. 24, Dill Jan. 8, Bean Oct. 31, McGrath Sr. et a1. Oct. 8, Bean Nov. 29, Stewart Nov. 18, Salisbury Jan. 17, 

